Spinnaker Club News

Handicap Class – April News Letter

Well it is now British Summer time but with this cold weather I ask when is summer coming – hopefully things are going to start warming up as April proceeds.

I am looking forward to getting on the water when Wednesday racing starts on the 15th April; I think my wife is too so she can have a bit of personal time. I am also pleased to see the Social Committee are arranging a range of interesting events off the water for this season – joining in club events is an important part of club life and makes being part of a club like Spinnaker all the more enjoyable and rewarding and you get to meet a great bunch of like minded people. So if you have rarely attended then please come on over you will be most welcome. Last Wednesday was racing rules Quiz night – Mike Robinson organised a challenging quiz and Claire organised a fish & chip supper. The regular Sunday Racing sessions have already started, unfortunately I am unable to make these: new this year will be a 12:00 noon race start along with the junior racers so there will be 3 adult races.

As you may have noticed Sarah is sending out a weekly news sheet with details of events and how to join in.

I am addressing this to a new list extent at the beginning of February. The list now includes the regular Firefly Sailors – (not including the University Team Racers). Ed Morris is acting as Team Racing co-ordinator and we are grateful to him for doing a fantastic job. The Handicap banner now covers a diverse range of craft and serves to illustrate how we are increasingly going toward single sail craft such as the Laser and Solo. This has left me in a difficult position as I do not quite know what to say; a brief discussion with Irene Hincks regarding the Friday evening Improvers sessions prompted some thoughts of why do we sail?

There always needs to be some purpose to our actions and I feel it is important to identify what that the purpose is in order to get the most from them. I am sure that generally we all enjoy that moment when we let loose the land and by using wind and tide navigate our way across water, the sense of being part of nature is both exhilarating and relaxing, the mental challenge a welcome change from our daily lives. What I was talking to Irene about was developing a Positive Mental Attitude toward the activity and to that end we need to be clear in what ways we wish to enjoy sailing. None of us are doing this to earn a living but we do have a diverse range of reasons to go sailing apart from the basic one: some may simply like cruising on their own or with others on sunny days with a breath of wind others prefer challenging weather – strong winds and all that goes with it, some like to be race leaders others are content to join in and be part of the event at the back. It is important to be very clear about why you want to sail in order to develop the positive mental attitude – this will help you to make sure you take part in what you enjoy doing so you can get the most from it; you can plan your activity better to avoid wasting your time and getting disappointed. Spinnaker Club welcomes all types of sailor and has events to suit all tastes – the important thing is get sailing.

Saying that there will be a series of Improver sessions on Friday evenings. The group are keen to arrange some Social Sailing Fridays and Buddy Racing – please keep an eye out for these dates and please come along and join in. If you want to improve your sailing technique in a non-pressure environment then consider joining the sessions.

URGENT

The 4th May Open Day is coming up and the club needs members to come along and participate. This class has the craft that can take visitors out for a pleasure trip – for many of whom it will be the first time that they can sense that basic sailing sensation I mentioned above and it is therefore an important introduction to the sport and the club. If you cannot participate can you let the club use your boat? Please contact Sarah.

Training Sessions

If anyone would be interested in organised training days then please let me know and I will arrange something. For example a How to Rig your craft day. Tom Walworth has offered to assist with a National 12’s for example. If you have any suggestions for organised events on the water or off then please let me know or send straight to Sarah.

Sailing Committee

Then next meeting is the 13th April: do you have any matters you would like me to raise at the meeting?

Boat Park

I will not bang on about tending to your craft but there are still many craft: covers off, half full of water, paint work sitting in the mud etc etc – so please do come up and sort your vessel out.

If you are no longer a member please advise and I will take you off the list.